The Wagner Project: Götterdämmerung

The Ring comes full circle.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Act II Scene II of Götterdämmerung as staged by the Mariinsky Theater.
That's Hagen standing on top of the Gibichung Hall. Photo by V. Baranovsky.

Twenty-two years after starting work on  his mammoth four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen, Richard Wagner wound up right back where he started with Götterdämmerung. The last opera of the cycle tells the story he wanted to tell in the first place: the death of the hero Siegfried and the redemption of the world by the heroine Brunnhilde. Except now the ending was different.

Concert Review: From Sunup to Twilight

Valery Gergiev conducts the Vienna Philharmonic.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Valery Gergiev conducting.
 Photo by Alberto Venzago © 2016 Columbia Artists Management Inc.

Saturday night's Carnegie Hall appearance by the Vienna Philharmonic was the second of three concerts given by the orchestra in New York on its current American tour. It also marked the fourth of five concerts last week for Valery Gergiev, the St. Petersburg-based conductor whose presence on a bill guarantees a small but vocal group of protesters outside the venue shaming the maestro for his ties to Russian strongman Vladimir Putin.

Metropolitan Opera Preview: Götterdämmerung

The last chapter of Wagner's Ring returns for another burn.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The Gibichung Hall in Act II of the Met's new Götterdämnerung.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2012 The Metropolitan Opera.

The six-hour final chapter of Wagner's Ring is in some ways the most conventional opera of the four. That's because Götterdämmerung (the title translates as Twilight of the Gods, though the opera was originally called Siegfried's Death) was the first libretto written. Twenty-four years later, this was also the last opera of the Ring to be completed, so it has the most complex music.

Opera Review: The Last Plank

The Met opens Robert Lepage's Götterdämmerung.
by Paul Pelkonen

Wedding interrupted. Act II of Götterdämmerung with Deborah Voigt (center) as Brunnhilde.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2012 The Metropolitan Opera.

The Metropolitan Opera unveiled the final segment of the company's new Ring Cycle last night with the house premiere of Götterdämmerung. This is the Robert Lepage production, featuring a frequently moving unit set ("The Machine") that reconfigures itself as needed to serve as a huge projection screen for digital imagery by Ex Machina, Mr. Lepage's Canadian production house.

This is not the best cast ever put onstage for Götterdämmerung. Deborah Voigt's performance had its rough moments, thanks to a dodgy middle register and a wide vibrato that threatened to degenerate in Act II. But the red-wigged diva pulled her performance out of the fire, even as she rode a giant robo-horse into the flames, singing an impressive, noble Immolation Scene.

Jay Hunter Morris continues to impress with his energetic Siegfried, although his diction still sounds a little weird at times. (Maybe it's a Texas thing.) His voice is a little small for the part, but with careful conducting from Fabio Luisi in the pit, he navigated the role's rough spots or in one case (the Act II "impossible" octave drop) avoided them altogether. 

A(nother) Look Ahead At the Met in 2011-2012

Visit the completed 2011-2012 Metropolitan Opera Preview.

A young opera-goer prepares for the Met's new production of Siegfried in 3D.

Five Things We're Looking Forward To:

1) The revival of The Makropoulos Case with Karita Mattila as Emilia Marty, a role that I'd travel across the country to see her sing. Luckily, I live in New York.


2) Benjamin Britten's powerful nautical drama Billy Budd, 'cos I've never seen it.

3) David Daniels in The Enchanted Island. The countertenor is among the greatest artists specializing in baroque repertory today.

4) Mussorgsky's Khovanschina, the powerful historic drama returning to the Met stage for the first time since 1999. Not as well known as Boris Godounov, this is the story of the Khovansky uprising against the Tsar Peter The Great. Needless to say, it doesn't end happily.

5) Anna sings Anna. (OK. Got the headline out of the way. Will try not to use it again.--Ed.) Ms. Netrebko sings the title role in Anna Bolena. Donizetti's drama of decapitation has never been performed at the Metropolitan Opera, and it's a century overdue. This David MacVicar production is the start of a trilogy of "Donizetti Queens", with Maria Stuarda scheduled for 2012 and Roberto Devereux planned for 2013.

Violetta (Marina Poplavskaya) knows that the operas
start 30 minutes earlier next year. Adjust your clocks accordingly.
Photo by Ken Howard  © 2011 The Metropolitan Opera

Some Things We're Not Looking Forward To:

1) Higher ticket prices. The Met is raising its prices by 2.7% for subscribers and 4.2% for individual tickets. The $25 seats in the Family Circle will not go up in price.

2) Operas next season will start at 7:30pm at the latest in an effort to get everybody home on time--and keep the musicians union happy.

3) The atom bomb Faust. Not three words I ever want to put in the same sentence.

4) The revival of Philip Glass' Satyagraha, which was performed without Met titles in its initial run. The opera's in SANSKRIT, folks. A translation would be helpful.

5) The Met chorus' difficult balancing act in Act II of the new "machine" production of Götterdämmerung.